Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SÁMI CULTURE TO ME MEANS...
'Sámi culture to me means the very act of staying and being alive - it's a life source. It's
been my roots; what has bound me to something. When I was a child, I spent a lot of time
in my grandmother's house in Karigasniemi. My grandfather showed me the flowers,
nature, told me things. Later I understood how valuable it had been to have heard even
short parts of the stories. I asked to tape them but he said no, there must be a possibility
for mistakes. I fill the missing parts in. That's how these tales have always developed and
grown.
'Do parents still maintain the oral tradition? Unfortunately not so much, but there's still
something like that going on. Mostly you see it in attitude, the way of behaving in nature,
respect for animals. Stories and beliefs have disappeared more, partly because of Chris-
tianity, partly because of the school system. People don't explain things in the same way
these days.
'There'll never be a united Sámi people, but self-confidence is stronger all the time.
Sámi people are respecting their roots more and are finding positives from their own cul-
ture. But we are somehow in danger of being hugged into destruction. So many sub-
sidies are sort of destroying the culture. We have no real political power but at least you
can study Sámi in school these days.
'Sámi women have always been strong women. They needed to run the home - the
men were always somewhere else, away with the reindeer and so on. It's been quite a ma-
ternal culture and still is in most ways.'
Satu Natunen, Sámi Artist
